Processes for chlorinating .beta.-methylpyridine compounds are known employing conventional vapor phase and liquid phase chlorination procedures. Vapor phase chlorination processes require that the starting materials are reacted together in a vapor phase and have the disadvantage of high energy requirements to effect the chlorination of the .beta.-methylpyridine compounds. This type of process also appears to have a low capability for selectively chlorinating the .beta.-methyl moiety. Vapor phase chlorination is also an impractical procedure for chlorinating many hydroxypyridine compounds due to the low vapor pressure of these compounds.
In liquid phase chlorination processes, the starting materials are reacted together in a liquid phase. Known liquid phase processes lack the capability to selectively chlorinate both the hydroxyl and .beta.-methylpyridine moieties of hydroxy-.beta.-methylpyridine compounds, since known liquid phase processes tend to favor chlorination of hydrogen on the pyridine ring over chlorination of hydroxyl moieties on the ring. Further, such liquid phase chlorination processes also have the disadvantage in requiring multiple steps to effect the desired chlorination of the pyridine compound.